Thursday, November 23, 2006
“It ain’t what you use it’s the way that you use it!”
My doctoral research examined the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) such as WebCT and Blackboard in UK Higher Education. She interviewed lecturers in campus-based institutions to investigate why they used a VLE, the way in which they used a VLE and factors that supported or prevented the use of a VLE. The focus was an examination of the claims made for these Web-based environments (that they encourage or facilitate a student-centred approach to teaching by, among other things, supporting collaboration and discussion) and for VLEs specifically (that they can enhance teaching and learning).
It was clear from my research that the set of tools within a VLE would enable lecturers to employ different teaching approaches, such as supporting more active learning, and rely less on the transmission of information in a lecture. The need to structure teaching and learning materials within a VLE seemed to help lecturers think about the way they taught and the materials they prepared for their students. However there were a number of barriers that prevented the integration of a VLE into teaching and elements in the teaching environment that affected whether a student-centred approach to teaching was adopted. The conception of teaching held by the lecturer was one such element.
In my presentation I will discuss some of the findings from my thesis to illustrate the barriers I identified and reflect on the ongoing debate about teaching and the use of VLEs in Higher Education.
¶ 1:51 pm 
Presentation in Maths Education Centre, Schofield Building, Wednesday 29th November, 2006
"... although ICT can enable new forms of teaching and learning to take place, they cannot ensure that effective and appropriate learning outcomes are achieved. It is not technologies, but educational purposes and pedagogy that must provide the lead, with students understanding not only how to work with ICT, but why it is of benefit for them to do so."
Kirkwood & Price (2005) Studies in Higher Education 30(3), p.257
Kirkwood & Price (2005) Studies in Higher Education 30(3), p.257
My doctoral research examined the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) such as WebCT and Blackboard in UK Higher Education. She interviewed lecturers in campus-based institutions to investigate why they used a VLE, the way in which they used a VLE and factors that supported or prevented the use of a VLE. The focus was an examination of the claims made for these Web-based environments (that they encourage or facilitate a student-centred approach to teaching by, among other things, supporting collaboration and discussion) and for VLEs specifically (that they can enhance teaching and learning).
It was clear from my research that the set of tools within a VLE would enable lecturers to employ different teaching approaches, such as supporting more active learning, and rely less on the transmission of information in a lecture. The need to structure teaching and learning materials within a VLE seemed to help lecturers think about the way they taught and the materials they prepared for their students. However there were a number of barriers that prevented the integration of a VLE into teaching and elements in the teaching environment that affected whether a student-centred approach to teaching was adopted. The conception of teaching held by the lecturer was one such element.
In my presentation I will discuss some of the findings from my thesis to illustrate the barriers I identified and reflect on the ongoing debate about teaching and the use of VLEs in Higher Education.
